When I was first able to legally buy beer in the state of Oregon, I found an unexpected surprise. What I found was more of an oddity than a standard representation of beer. It was Ballantine IPA, the first and at that time the only IPA. It amazed me that the depth and breadth of flavor and hoppiness combined with marked oak character could be contained in a simple glass of beer. Over the years, many IPA’s have come and gone, including Ballantine’s marque, but the newer breweries like Anchor and Bridgeport, carried on the longstanding tradition of brewing a hop forward beer. You too can brew an IPA of great depth of flavor and aroma, all you need are the ingredients, patience, and a recipe to follow as a guideline to brew this style of beer.

Extract:

10 lbs. Pilsen Light LME

1 lb. Medium British Crystal Malt

2 oz. Chinook Hops (Bittering)

2 oz. Amarillo Hops (Flavor)

2 oz. Citra Hops (Aroma)

Whirlfloc tablet or Irish Moss

¼ oz. Brewing Salts in the boil.

Wyeast 1056, WLP001, Imperial Flagship, or Safale US-05 yeast

Instructions:

Heat 2½ gallons of water to 155°F.
Turn off heat and add LME, stirring until fully dissolved, and steep specialty grains for 20~30 minutes.
Add water to volume, return to heat, bring to boil for 10 min.
Add bittering hops.
At 20 minutes remaining in the boil, add the flavor hops.
At 15 minutes remaining in the boil, add a Whirfloc tablet.
At 7 minutes remaining, add the aroma hops.
After boil has finished, turn off heat, then cool wort by placing kettle in an ice bath or use a wort chiller (0 min).
Add mixture to fermenter, removing hops, and bring total volume to 5 gallons using non-distilled bottled water or filtered tap water.
Aerate unfermented wort (shaking works well).
Pitch yeast and ferment at 68° F until completed (about a week).
Allow to age an additional four to six weeks before packaging up as usual.

All Grain:

13 lbs. Pale Ale Malt

1 lb. Medium British Crystal Malt

2 oz. Chinook Hops (Bittering)

2 oz. Amarillo Hops (Flavor)

2 oz. Citra Hops (Aroma)

Whirlfloc tablet or Irish Moss

¼ oz. Brewing Salts in the mash and in the boil.

Wyeast 1056, WLP001, Imperial Flagship, or Safale US-05 yeast

Procedure:

Infusion mash at 150°F for 1 hour, using a standard (1.33 qt./lb.) mash. Sparge to 6.5 gallons of wort, and bring to a roiling boil. Add the bittering hops 15 minutes into the boil. At 20 minutes remaining, add the flavor hops. At 15 minutes remaining add the Whirlfloc tablet or Irish moss. At 7 minutes remaining in the boil, add the aroma hops. At 0 minutes (knockout), cool the mixture by placing kettle in an ice bath or using a wort chiller. Add mixture to fermenter, removing hops, and aerate unfermented wort (shaking works well). Pitch yeast and ferment at 68°F. Gravity may vary depending on system efficiency, so adjust accordingly, using malt extract if needed.

Package up as usual; bottled versions should use 100 gms. corn sugar (approx. ¾ cup), or kegged to 20 psig, and allow two weeks to come into condition. Serve at 45°~50°F in a Nonic glass, or in a dimpled pint mug, so share, and enjoy! This beer will continue to evolve and change over the coming months, so make enough to last you through your next brew.